Not Nagelsmann, but Undav is causing the problem
What’s all the fuss about? Julian Nagelsmann has an ace up his sleeve. When international matches are on the line, when the opponent is getting tired, when Germany urgently needs a spark: Enter Deniz Undav. This joker always stings. Nagelsmann can literally substitute goals. After that, other national coaches would be licking their fingers.
But no: Nagelsmann’s “understanding of roles” is now said to be dangerous. Where is the problem? In the national coach’s system there are clear regular players, substitutes, substitutes and pure training partners. These roles are transparent internally and externally, clearly communicated and make perfect sense. The players know where they stand.
Kai Havertz is the most internationally experienced and technically best center forward in the German national team. Nick Woltemade is a tall target player. If one of these two has “played” the opposing central defense for long enough, sly Undav can strike. The extent to which this distribution of roles works was shown against Ghana when Undav scored the winning goal two minutes before the end.
Everything’s great, isn’t it? The only one who is causing a problem from this comfortable situation at the moment is Deniz Undav himself. He knows how important Nagelsmann’s understanding of his role is and should not say after two games that his role might still change. He could also avoid making one or two gestures on the field. This causes unnecessary unrest, which neither helps him nor the national coach.
This is how you turn the fans against your own coach. Nagelsmann already seems annoyed when he has to answer questions about Undav. And: So Undav turns himself from a trump card into a bone of contention, from an ace of clubs to a seven of diamonds. He shouldn’t do that. Nagelsmann has already given him a clear hint.
